The NHL Second Round Playoff Games have arrived as Pickswise will be handing out daily winning NHL picks starting on Thursday. With over a decade of combined winning experience, Pickswise is your number one NHL second round playoff resource to win. To kick off the second round playoff games, the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues from the Western Conference will go toe to toe. Enjoy these free NHL second round playoff predictions? Give @Pickswise a follow and get a first hand-look on his daily research.
Stars vs. Blues First Round Playoff Predictions
Game 1: DAL Stars at STL Blues
Line: Blues -155
Pickswise Expert Picks: Blues WIN!
Well, it’s Western Conference Semifinals time in the NHL Playoffs and we got a good one as the Dallas Stars kick-off this series with a trip to St. Louis to square-off with the Blues at Enterprise Center. The Stars were able to take care of the Nashville Predators in the first round winning that series 4-2. The Blues knocked the Winnipeg Jets out in round one winning that series 4-2 as well. Dallas is 6-4 in their last 10 games and is also on a three-game winning streak. St. Louis is 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Blues will look to extend their current two-game winning streak.
St. Louis is 8-2 in their last 10 games at home. Dallas has had some success in the last 10 head-to-head meetings with St. Louis as the Stars are 6-4 in those 10 games. That also includes two wins in the last three meetings. The Stars have won each of the last two meetings at Enterprise Center, so they know how to get the job done in St. Louis. However, the Blues have been really strong as of late, and that is why they are the team to back in game one
Game 2: DAL Stars @ STL Blues
Line: Blues -140
Pickswise Expert Pick: Blues ML/ WIN
It was a tough game one match-up between the Stars and Blues, with St. Louis ultimately getting the win at home on their own ice. Game two should give the same excitement as the Stars will be hungry to tie up the series heading to Dallas for games three and four. The Stars three-game winning streak was snapped in the loss, but they could still make this series very interesting. Dallas is 9-4 in their last 13 road games. However, the Stars have struggled at the Enterprise Center having lost five of their last seven games there. St. Louis is 9-2 in their last 11 games on their home ice.
Dallas was able to win three of the four regular season match-ups between the teams. The game one win marked the Blues first win over Dallas since January when St. Louis was able to get a win on the road at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Game two should be highly contested much like game one was in the 3-2 victory for the Blues. Back St. Louis to get the victory in game two.
Game 3: STL Blues @ DAL Stars
Line: Stars -120
Pickswise Expert Pick: Stars ML/ WIN
The Blues stumble into game three at the American Airlines Center in Dallas coming off a 4-2 defeat on their own ice in St. Louis in game two. St. Louis was successful in game one, but couldn’t repeat that performance. The Stars have built some momentum and with the series turning to their arena, Dallas could be set to take a commanding lead in the series. Dallas is 4-1 in their last five games, with the lone loss coming against St. Louis. The Stars have also only lost once at home in their last five games at American Airlines Center.
St. Louis has struggled when playing in Dallas with only one win in their last five games there. Dallas has posted a 26-15-3 record at home this season, while St. Louis is 24-13-7 on the road. The Stars have won seven of the last 10 head-to-head meetings with the Blues. The real question is does the Blues still have the fight they had in their series with Winnipeg. Sadly it doesn’t look like they do, and that is why the Dallas Stars are a good pick in game three.
Game 4: STL Blues @ DAL Stars
Line: Stars -125
Pickswise Expert Pick: Stars ML / WIN
The Dallas Stars got run off their own ice in game three, in a bit of a shocking victory for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues were able to take a 2-1 lead into this game four match-up at American Airlines Center in Dallas. That is an arena that the Stars have been hard to beat at, and a place where St. Louis has struggled. The Blues have lost three of the last five meetings in Dallas. However, the Blues will look to extend their current 4-1 record in their last five games on the road. A 3-6-1 record in the last 10 head-to-head meetings with the Stars has the Blues looking shaky in this game.
They have confidence, but it’s hard to see St. Louis winning two games in Dallas back-to-back. The Stars are 4-2 in their last six games and is 3-2 in their last five home games. St. Louis has been strong in the playoffs with no losses away from home. Dallas is currently 2-2 at home in the playoffs. The Dallas Stars at home are the team to back in game four.
Game 5: DAL Stars @ STL Blues
Line: Blues -145
Pickswise Expert Pick: Blues ML/ WIN
Neither team in this series has been able to get a comfortable lead, as they prepare for their game five showdown at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Dallas Stars are coming off a gritty 4-2 win in game four and will have to find a way to get another road victory in this series if they want a shot at advancing to the conference finals. If any of the first four games in this series tells you different it really doesn’t as this series has been tight, just like the current series standing tied at two games apiece. The Blues and Stars are also finding the net at a much higher rate than they have averaged for most of the season.
The Blues have come firing out of the gate in every game so far, that includes the game-opening goal in each of the games in the series. However, they haven’t been able to keep the momentum throughout the rest of the game. St. Louis has won 15 of their last 20 games at home. The Blues have had a lot of success at home this season. The ice advantage may be the difference in this series. This has the feel of a possible seven-game series. The Blues have a great shot to start down that road by getting a win at home in game five. Rolling with St. Louis in game five.
Game 6: STL Blues @ DAL Stars
Line: Stars -125
Pickswise Expert Pick: Stars ML/ WIN
The Dallas Stars have all the momentum in this series and now returning home to American Airlines Center in Dallas with a 3-2 lead in the series and a good chance to clinch the series. The St. Louis Blues have lost two straight in the series and three of the last four games against Dallas. The Blues brings a 4-1 record in their last five road games. Dallas has only lost twice in their last eight games. Dallas has been strong for much of the playoffs with only four losses so far this postseason. Game five was the lowest scoring game of this round for both teams as they only combined for three total goals.
The Stars home record in their last five home games doesn’t seem like the best but at 3-2 in that span, the Stars still have got a good shot in this one. St. Louis is 3-1 in their last four road games. The Blues will have to find a way to get a win in a tough environment if they want to force a game seven in this series. I just don’t see that happening in this one. Back Dallas to get the win and clinch the series in game six.
Game 7: DAL Stars @ STL Blues
Line: Blues -135
Pickswise Expert Pick: Blues ML/WIN
It has been a tough back and forth series for both the Stars and Blues, as they head into a series-deciding game seven at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Blues were able to force this game seven with an impressive game six 4-1 victory in Dallas. The Stars looked like they were in a perfect position to clinch the series, in game six, but they didn’t have any answers for the resilient Blues team. Dallas has won two of the last three in the series, along with each of the last two games that have been played at Enterprise Center. The road team has had pretty good success in this series. St. Louis has won 14 of their last 20 games at home. With that in mind, they will need to find a way to put the puck in the net as they have only managed three total goals in their last two home games in this series. The Ben Bishop injury makes the Stars queezy most likely as he suffered an upper-body injury in game six. It looks like he will play in game seven, but he will need to be at his best. Back the Blues to get the game seven win and clinch the series.
